We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org) In this episode, Savannah Campbell, a K-5 reading specialist, shares practical spelling tips for teachers. She emphasizes the importance of having students say the sounds or syllables as they spell, as it helps develop sound-symbol correspondence. Savannah also recommends interleaving, which involves practicing both new and old spelling skills to ensure mastery. Savannah also discusses the use of dictation, word chains and sound boxes for spelling instruction. Additionally, she ..read more

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org) SummaryIn this episode, Hugh Catts discusses two popular reading models: the Simple View of Reading and Scarborough's Reading Rope. The Simple View of Reading highlights the importance of word recognition and language comprehension in reading comprehension. It emphasizes that if a child struggles in one area, it will affect their overall reading comprehension. Scarborough's Reading Rope provides a more detailed breakdown of the components involved in reading, including backgrou ..read more

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org) From October 7, 2022 In this episode, we talk with former balanced literacy teacher and parent, Missy Purcell. She authored a blog post titled Dear Balanced Literacy Teacher. Missy writes, “According to Nancy Young’s ladder of reading, roughly 10-15% of kids can figure out reading out with this type of instruction, but my child, who would later be diagnosed with dyslexia, would never be able to become a proficient reader with any version of balanced literacy. He, according to ..read more

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org) Kim Lockhart, Canadian educator, shares her top three book recommendations. The first recommendation is 'Next Steps in Literacy Instruction' by Susan Smart and Deb Glaser, which focuses on the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) model and effective interventions. The second recommendation is 'Why Don't Students Like School?' by Daniel Willingham, which explores the science of learning and how to make instruction more effective. The third recommendation is 'Read Alouds for Al ..read more

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org)  Yvette Manns discusses the schwa and its importance. She shares insights from her book, The Not So Lazy Schwa, and explains how it helps children understand the schwa sound. Yvette also tells all about National Schwa Day, a holiday she created to celebrate language and literacy in schools. She provides suggestions for celebrating the day and highlights the resources available in the National Schwa Day toolkit.  Takeaways The schwa is a neutral unstressed sound that ..read more

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org) Matt Burns discusses the importance of phonemic awareness in reading instruction. Phonemic awareness is an outcome of skilled reading, not a precursor, and it has a reciprocal relationship with reading. Matt also emphasizes the need to focus on decoding skills in second, third, and fourth grade, rather than solely on phonemic awareness. Matt provides practical takeaways for teachers and recommends additional resources for learning about phonemic awareness. Takeaways Phonemic a ..read more

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org) FROM AUGUST 4, 2023 What if the key to unlocking your students' reading comprehension could be found through a deeper understanding of the intricate processes at work in their minds? Prepare to have your teaching world transformed as we journey with reading comprehension expert and acclaimed author, Nancy Hennessy. Together, we’ll map out the cognitive and linguistic processes that underpin comprehension, and navigate the complex interaction between a reader's knowledge, the te ..read more

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org) In this conversation we explore Nancy Young's infographic, "The Ladder of Reading and Writing," unpacking the complexity of learning to read and write in English. This framework helps educators grasp the diverse factors influencing how students learn. Nancy Young and Jan Hasbrouck, editors of the new book Climbing the Ladder of Reading & Writing: Meeting the Needs of All Learners help us navigate through the four color-coded levels—ranging from those facing the most challen ..read more

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org) Jul 7, 2023 Today we talk about fluency and assessment with Jan Hasbrouck. She shares tips and tricks for how to to best assess and teach fluency. She also debunks frequent fluency misunderstandings and explains the scientific evidence that underlies the Hasbrouck-Tindal Oral Reading Fluency Chart.   Note: During the podcast, we mentioned we would link Jan’s previous studies on ORF. But… we want to make sure the most recent information (Fluency Norms Chart 2017 Update) is ..read more

We would love to hear from you! Send us a message (if you'd like a reply, email us at literacypodcast@greatminds.org) Nancy Hennessy and Julia Salamone discuss the importance of vocabulary and syntax in reading comprehension. They explain how vocabulary connects to reading comprehension and the different levels of word knowledge. They also emphasize the need for explicit instruction in vocabulary and the role of context in understanding word meaning. They also discuss the connection between semantics and syntax and how understanding sentence comprehension is crucial for overall comprehension ..read more